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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Social Organization

There are two ways to organize a society. The objective of both is to maximize the welfare of everyone. This does not mean that everyone is equal in either system.

Roles are reversing:

Karl Marx

1. Karl Marx thought society could be run by politics and bureaucracy which is how societies have always been organized and how the "free world" is run today. While Marxism has been considered radical, Marxism maintains a pyramidal structure, replacing entitled-holders with job-holders.

Today, China and Russia have turned away from Marxist organization. China is becoming the world's leading economic power — surpassing the United States. Chinese billionaires are growing rich but the Chinese at the bottom have benefitted most.

Adam Smith

2. Adam Smith thought society could be run with the market organizing production and distribution and with the rule of law keeping everyone toeing the line.

Eighteenth century Scotland resembled Twentieth century Singapore because they followed Smith's prescription in The Wealth of Nations. Great Britain and the United States flowered too.

Today, the United States leads the world in accumulation of wealth by the top 1% at the expense of everyone else.

Political Economy examines the nexus between economics and politics. No doubt most people today believe that everything would accumulate in a few hands did government not redistribute what was produced. That is not why 1% in the United States has acquired most of the wealth. Such accumulation occurs when the power of government is misused to make it happen. In China corrupt officials and business owners are shot. Here, they go scott-free because they control the political, legislative, legal and propaganda systems. They go on to grab even more. Unbridled greed knows no bounds. Our owners think they can continue to use military superiority to keep things running their way. WW III looms. Why has this happened? We must blame ourselves.

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Students of political economy know we are entering difficult times. — So what's new? — Yet a bright future does lie ahead. Seize the moment and live free!